Looking back on 2022…
For the DDB team, 2022 was the year of getting things done! We went full force, with our heaviest schedule and most ambitious filming projects to date. The results have been an incredible year of releases with six new full-length courses/masterclasses and 38 free YouTube interviews/lessons. We are also set up for an incredible 2023 as the projects that are currently in production will continue to set the standard for what’s possible with online double bass education, so stay tuned for updates!
Before we look ahead, let’s take a moment to reflect on a busy year.
The Highlights from Our best year yet!
January 🚀
Since launching Discover Double Bass in 2013, we have specialised in producing the highest quality courses, by the bass world’s most skilled educators. However, we felt like it was time to change things up so started 2022 with a new product line to sit alongside our signature courses. The Masterclass Series features unique artists, is affordable and aimed at learning the most we can from these legendary bassists. Our first guest was none other than Chris Wood of the Wood Brothers and Medeski, Martin and Wood. It was a real joy to learn about Chris’ unique approach to the double bass and signature techniques. From prepared double bass to improvisation, Chris shares it all in this three-hour in-depth interview. Like our courses, we included detailed transcriptions of the musical demonstrations, unlimited access for students and unlike many other online learning platforms, there are no costly ongoing subscription charges. This new Masterclass series is a great way to learn about your double bass heroes and we have been thrilled with the positive reception this new series has received.
Our first YouTube interview of the year saw the release of the final video from the 2021 Dutch Double Bass festival with the incredible jazz bassist, Jasper Hoiby. We cover a lot of ground in this very personal discussion about music and the double bass. You can find this video here alongside the others from the festival (Dave Holland, Ben Williams, Božo Paradžik & Jame Oesi).
We are committed to continuing our free lessons and interviews on YouTube, so if there’s someone you want us to feature at DDB, be sure to let us know and we will see what we can do!
February 🇫🇷
Our first international trip of the year saw us head to Paris to film a masterclass with Renaud Garcia-Fons and a very special two-part YouTube interview with François Rabbath. Meeting two bass legends within such a short space of time was an incredible experience!
We were also thrilled to welcome Florentin Ginot to the YouTube channel. I think it’s fair to say that Florentin is one of the bass-world’s most exciting and innovative artists. If there was a top 10 list of living bass players, I would argue he has a place. If you need convincing, just check out this video!
March 🇺🇸
Kelley’s Heroes, featuring Slick Joe Fick!
One project that we were working on before the pandemic was a course by the Energizer Bunny of the double bass world, Slick Joe Fick! His course, Slap That Bass! was finally released this year and features some incredible lessons with demos from one of Nashville’s hottest bands, Kelley's Heroes!
Check out this video of Joe giving us history lesson!
Our interview/performance video series saw us feature Florentin Ginot in this second DDB YouTube video. The solo performance was filmed in a huge (working) piece of industrial machinery with insane acoustics! It’s still our most crazy video yet and we were very grateful to Florentin for agreeing to be part of this. Thankfully, no bassists or crew were injured in the making of this video :-)
Fast forward to the end to see/hear this epic performance!
🥳 NEW DDB FORUM! - THE STUDY GROUP!
We were also thrilled to launch a brand new feature for all of our students, a dedicated forum which is integrated into the courses website. No more Facebook, now you just log in to view your course as normal and you will find a link to the Study Group in the header of the website. The group is dedicated to learning the double bass and all students are welcome. I’m in there answering questions daily as well as the other members. If you’ve ever bought a course or masterclass, be sure to check you’re also part of the group as it’s a huge asset to the DDB community.
April 🗽
Whilst it’s fun it to meet new artists, it’s always a pleasure to welcome back old friends and April saw the return of Katie Thrioux to present a new course. The sessions also featured her trio with drummer Matt Witek and pianist Sam Watts. There was so much inspiring music to capture so it was a real treat. Just like Katie’s first course, From Beginner to Bandstand, there’s some highly effective lessons to help you make maximum progress and have a great time doing it. The course is scheduled for release in the spring of 2023, so stay tuned to our email list for updates.
Filming commenced in New York on a very special project with jazz bass legend Marc Johnson. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to welcome such a special artist to DDB and the sessions were a lot of fun!
Marc Johnson and Geoff Chalmers in NYC.
May 🇫🇷
May saw the DDB team return to Paris to film a very special project that is currently in the final stages of production and due for release in February 2023. I can share that this artist is a bassist at the top of jazz scene who is one of our most requested artists. Stay tuned to the email newsletter for an exciting announcement! ⏰
June 🤠
One of our most requested topics from our audience is bluegrass, so it was a joy to welcome the best in the business, Barry Bales to present his course, My Approach to Bluegrass Bass. June saw the release of this to wide acclaim.
July 🎤
This month saw interviews with two European bass giants, Jiri Slavik and Rick Stotjin. Both of these players are true innovators with unique approaches to their art. It was a joy to feature them at DDB and we very much enjoyed their musical performances. Find all our latest interviews here.
August 🎈
We were thrilled this month to welcome the second guest to our new Masterclass series, the amazing Renaud Garcia-Fons. He is an absolutely incredible artist, and I really enjoyed our discussions unpacking every aspect of his musical world. His performances were also stunning so we were really pleased to be able to share this Masterclass with everyone.
In August we also celebrated the 9th birthday of Discover Double Bass. It’s always a joy to pause and reflect on the progress we have made since launching the website.
Interviews for this month included two wonderful players: the ‘First Lady of Bluegrass’, Missy Raines and the ‘Evolving Bassist’, Rufus Reid.
Here’s our interview with the great Rufus Reid, just incase you missed it.
September 🎥
In September, filming commenced on a major new project for release in 2023. Presented by one of the classical bass world’s finest talents (to be revealed!), this new series of lessons is designed to transform the way you approach the double bass and to smash your audition!
We also welcome the renowned artist, Russell Hall in his course, Bessie’s Bass Busters.
Russell Hall
To round off this busy month, we were delighted to welcome back John Goldsby to film our most ambitious project yet. Featuring no less than seven accompanying musicians and our largest-ever video/audio crew, we threw everything we had at this! It’s fair to say our video editor will be burning the candle at both ends to get this one ready, but if all goes to plan we are very much hoping to share it in the autumn of 2023.
Interview release: Since the launch of Discover Double Bass in 2013, there has been one artist we have been dying to meet, the great François Rabbath. So it was an enormous pleasure to release the first of this two-part series on YouTube.
October 🎞
October saw the return of two of our most popular guests from earlier this year, François Rabbath and Missy Raines. I can’t think of a cooler combination of guests!
November 🤩
We finally were able to share the exciting news, that the legendary artist Marc Johnson was our next Masterclass artist. Filmed earlier this year in New York City, this intimate portrait of one of the greatest living bassists was a real honour.
Marc Johnson and Geoff Chalmers
Nina Bernat
Our interview with Nina Bernat was one of the most popular of the year. Her wonderful performance of Bach at the end of the video has to be one of the most stunning performances we have seen at DDB and I can’t recommend it highly enough!
December 🎄
Rounding off the year in style we saw the release of two more interviews with NYC first-call jazz bassists, Dezron Douglas and Adi Meyerson. It was such a joy to look behind the curtain and learn about the life of a bassist in the Big Apple. They are both unique and exciting artists who blew us away with their classy bass playing and unique creative approaches.
🥳 We also celebrated Rebekah’s third year as our Projects and Operations manager. She does some stellar work behind the scenes and is the reason we are able to produce so much incredible content!
What’s coming up in 2023…🧐
What’s next for DDB? Well, after taking a well-earned break for the Christmas Holidays, we are looking forward to sharing our first new course of the year in January. I’m thrilled that it will feature a new genre, as well as a very popular new tutor. I still can’t quite believe we managed to pull this one off! I can assure you that it’s a completely unique course on a topic that has never been done before… by anyone! Be sure to keep subscribed to our email newsletter (link below) for updates on this exciting release.
…Ok, we can share a clue, here’s a photo from the session:
To follow that, in February, we are due to share our latest masterclass guest, who’s probably one of the world’s best-known and loved double bassists.
Geoff’s starstruck expression.
Later in the 2023, we will be releasing courses by Katie Thiroux and John Goldsby, as well as welcoming other new artists to the website. Of course, our interviews/lessons will continue be published regularly and we are excited to welcome more incredible bassists to tell their stories. So, 2023 is lining up to be another exciting year and we can’t wait to share it with you!
Thank you
So that’s a wrap for 2022! Thanks so much for reading this, as well as for following our journey and being part of the DDB community. I say it all the time, but I really am grateful for the support we get in our mission to create the world’s best online double bass school. 2023 will see our 10-year anniversary and I can’t wait to see what’s next for all of us. So practice hard, and see you in 2023!
Best wishes,
Geoff (DDB Founder, Masterclass Host and double bass fanatic)
P.S. Here’s the link to join our newsletter for updates 👇